Ceramic fiber insulation has been widely adopted in the steel making and in other industries which handle molten metal. It is employed for making heat retentive ladle covers and furnace walls. The following references illustrate prior suggestions and practices in this field: Briemont, U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,146; Schraff, U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,734; Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,769; Coble, U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,022; Schraff, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,202; Miller, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,473; Braschler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,974; Miller, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,441; Miller et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,702; Cimochowski, U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,746; Parker, U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,749; Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,621; Hounsel, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,634; Cimochowski, U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,902; Rast, U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,086; Severin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,839; Werych, U.S. Pat. No. 4,246,852; Sauder, U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,036; King, U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,013; Byrd, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,886; Byrd, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,469; Carr, U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,825, Lampert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,155; Byrd, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,996; Greaves, U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,203; Byrd, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,470; Sauder, U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,244; Hatch, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,057; Monaghan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,396; Brady, U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,262; Balaz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,815; Sauder, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,468; Mills, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,152; French Patent Publication No. 2,388,197; U.K. Patent Application No. 2,112,119A; U.K. Patent Application No. 2,034,867A; U.K. Patent Application No. 2,004,626A; U.K. Patent Specification No. 1,555,459; European Patent Publication No. 0,010,444; and Miller, U.S. Pat. No. De. D291,118.